Kavango West is one of the fourteen

regions of Namibia Namibia uses regions as its first-level subnational administrative divisions. Since 2013, it has 14 regions which in turn are subdivided into Constituencies of Namibia, 121 constituencies. Upon Independence of Namibia, Namibian independence, th ...

. Its capital and only self-governed settlement is

Nkurenkuru Nkurenkuru (1.093 m above sea level) is a town on the south-western banks of the Kavango River. It is the capital of the Kavango West Region of northern Namibia, located west of Rundu. It is also a former mission station of the Finnish Missio ...

, its governor is

Sirkka Ausiku Sirrka Namutenya Anneli Mwahafa Ausiku (born 1964) is a Namibian administrator and politician, currently serving as a legislator in the National Assembly (Namibia), 8th National Assembly. She was the governor of Kavango West Region since 2014 to 2 ...

. The Region was created in 2013 when the

Kavango Region Kavango (before 1998: Okavango) was one of the thirteen regions of Namibia until it was split into the Kavango East and Kavango West Regions in 2013. Its capital was Rundu. In the north, Kavango bordered the Cuando Cubango Province of Angola, an ...

was split into

Kavango East Kavango East is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia. Its capital is Rundu, its governor is Bonifatius Wakudumo. The region was created in 2013 when the Kavango Region was split into Kavango East and Kavango West. The only self-governing sett ...

and Kavango West. In the north, Kavango West borders the Cuando Cubango Province of

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

. Domestically, it borders the regions of

to the east,

Otjozondjupa Otjozondjupa is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia. Its capital is Otjiwarongo. The region further contains the municipalities of Okahandja and Grootfontein and the towns Okakarara and Otavi. , Otjozondjupa had 97,945 registered voters. Geo ...

to the south,

Oshikoto Oshikoto is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, named after Lake Otjikoto. Its capital is Omuthiya. Further major settlements in the region are Tsumeb, Otjikoto's capital until 2008, and Oniipa. , Oshikoto had 112,170 registered voters. Ge ...

to the west and

Ohangwena Ohangwena is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, its capital is Eenhana. Major settlements in the region are the towns Eenhana and Helao Nafidi as well as the self-governed village of Okongo and the proclaimed settlements Ongha, Ongenga an ...

to the northwest. Because of its rather high rainfall compared to most other parts of Namibia and its location on the

Kavango River The Okavango River (formerly spelt Okovango or Okovanggo), is a river in southwest Africa. It is known by this name in Botswana, and as Cubango in Angola, and Kavango in Namibia. It is the fourth-longest river system in southern Africa, runni ...

after which it was named, this region has agricultural potential for the cultivation of a variety of crops, as well as for organised forestry and agro-forestry, which stimulates furniture making and related industries. Kavango West and its sister region Kavango East are nevertheless the poorest regions in Namibia.

Politics

The Fourth Delimitation Commission of Namibia, responsible for recommending on the country's

administrative divisions Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...

suggested in August 2013 to split the

into two. The president

Hifikepunye Pohamba Hifikepunye Lucas Pohamba (born 18 August 1935) is a Namibian politician who served as the second president of Namibia from 21 March 2005 to 21 March 2015. He won the 2004 Namibian presidential election, 2004 presidential election overwhelming ...

enacted the recommendations. As a result, the new Regions of

and Kavango West have been created. As of 2020, Kavango West had 23,804 registered voters.

Administrative division

The region is subdivided into eight electoral constituencies: * Kapako * Mankumpi * Mpungu * Musese * Ncamangoro * Ncuncuni *

* Tondoro In the 2015 regional elections

SWAPO The South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO ; , SWAVO; , SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former independence movement in Namibia (formerly South West Africa). Founded in 1960, it has been ...

won in all eight constituencies. SWAPO also won all constituencies in the 2020 regional election, all of them by a landslide, and with overall more than 90% of the votes.

Governors

The first Governor of Kavango West was Samuel Mbambo, former Governor of the Kavango Region and sitting Governor of Kavango East. On 27 April 2014

, formerly Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development, was appointed. He kept his position in 2015 in president

Hage Geingob Hage Gottfried Geingob (3 August 1941 – 4 February 2024) was a Namibian politician who served as the third president of Namibia from 2015 until his death in February 2024. Geingob was the country's first prime minister A prime minister ...

new government.

Population

The region is characterised by an extremely uneven population distribution. The interior is very sparsely inhabited, while the northernmost strip, especially along the

, has a high population concentration.

Economy and infrastructure

The region contains a multi-country conservation park and six locally managed wildlife reserves.

Oil exploration

ReconAfrica, a petroleum exploration company headquartered in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, has obtained exploration licenses for more than 13,600 square miles of land in the Kavango West region of Namibia and in

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

. In January 2021 ReconAfrica announced the start of drilling operations on the first exploration well. Environmental activists have expressed concern that ReconAfrica's plans for its test wells have not been properly vetted through Namibia's environmental review process, however ReconAfrica and both the governments of Namibia and Botswana have stated that the company's activities have followed due process and that no fracking will occur. The drilling license does not include any of the protected areas.

Demographics

As of 2023, Kavango West has a population of 123,266 inhabitants, with an annual growth rate of 2.9%. Women outnumber men, with a population of 93 men for every 100 women. The fertility rate is 5.2 and the average household size is 5.5. 16.7% of the population is under 5, 28.8% 5 - 14, 30.9% 15 - 34, 16.4% 35 - 59, and 7.2% over 60. The region is majority rural, with only 8.5% of inhabitants living in urban areas compared to 91.5% in rural areas. The average population density is 5.0 people per km². Only 30.5% own cellphones, and only 10.1% has access to internet. The literacy rate is 77.9%. 17.6% of the population has never attended school. 80.4% of the population has access to clean drinking water, 21.8% toilet facilities, and 20.4% electricity. To receive income, 18.7% earn wages, 17.3% receive an old-age pension, 36.5% farm, and 5.7% work in non-farming business.

External links

Kavango West Regional Council
Official website

References

{{Authority control Regions of Namibia States and territories established in 2013 2013 establishments in Namibia